Category Archives: Books

I recently had an opportunity to listen to and then meet Monique W. Morris and Khalil Gibran Muhammad discussing Monique’s new book: Black Stats.

This book is a vast compendium of revealing facts about blacks in the 20th Century. It is the first ever work of it’s kind.

When asked what was the most surprising fact she came across, Ms. Morris mentioned a timely stat regarding views on gay marriage. She also shared a stat regarding incarceration rates that people might find surprising. Mr. Muhammad provided a fascinating perspective on how facts can be used to illuminate or perpetuate bias.

Monique W. Morris is co-founder of the National Black Women’s Justice Institute. She is a Soros Justice Fellow and formerly served as Vice President for Economic Programs, Advocacy, and Research for the NAACP. A faculty member at St. Mary’s College of California, she is the author of the novel Too Beautiful for Words.

Khalil Gibran Muhammad is the director of the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture at the New York Public Library and the author of The Condemnation of Blackness: Race, Crime, and the Making of Modern Urban America.

This and other books, music, etc can be found on HarlemCondoLife’s recently upgrade store, located here.

Black Stats?a comprehensive guide filled with contemporary facts and figures on African Americans?is an essential reference for anyone attempting to fathom the complex state of our nation. With fascinating and often surprising information on everything from incarceration rates, lending practices, and the arts to marriage, voting habits, and green jobs, the contextualized material in this book will better attune readers to telling trends while challenging commonly held, yet often misguided, perceptions.

A compilation that at once highlights measures of incredible progress and enumerates the disparate impacts of social policies and practices, this book is a critical tool for advocates, educators, and policy makers. Black Stats offers indispensable information that is sure to enlighten discussions and provoke debates about the quality of Black life in the United States today?and help chart the path to a better future.

There are less than a quarter-million Black public school teachers in the U.S.—representing just 7 percent of all teachers in public schools.Approximately half of the Black population in the United States lives in neighborhoods that have no White residents.In the five years before the Great Recession, the number of Black-owned businesses in the United States increased by 61 percent.A 2010 study found that 41 percent of Black youth feel that rap music videos should be more political.There are no Black owners or presidents of an NFL franchise team.78 percent of Black Americans live within 30 miles of a coal-fired power plant, compared with 56 percent of White Americans.

The Maysles Documentary Center in association with Zero Point Zero Production and The New York Society for Ethical Culture is proud to present a conversation about film and food with Anthony Bourdain and Albert Maysles, moderated by Michaela Angela Davis and featuring special guest Marcus Samuelsson. We will feature clips from legendary documentary filmmaker Albert Maysles’ genre defining work in film, and Emmy award winning chef, author and travel journalist Anthony Bourdain’s Parts Unknown television series. Join us as the two speak about the art of auteur filmmaking, serendipitous dining, and how cameras connect diverse peoples around the globe. All proceeds to benefit the Maysles Documentary Center.

A Note on Tickets:
Tickets are available for the event only at $65.00 by selecting 7:30pm Wed, Dec. 11th below.

Tickets are available for the pre-reception and the event for $125.00 by selecting 6:00pm, on Wed. Dec. 11th below.

Joseph “JJ” Johnson, chef de cuisine of Harlem’s new hot spot The Cecil, along with Christopher Stewart, chef and food blogger release their highly anticipated cookbook, “Food is What I Do”.

“Food is What I Do” highlights recipes and dishes from a chefs approach that the reader can relate to. Using local ingredients and modern cooking techniques, Chef JJ has put together a collection of delicious recipes to share with family and friends, while also bringing a little piece of chef jj into your kitchen.

We really loved our meals at the Cecil and are so happy for what we expect will quickly become a standard work of culinary art.

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BIOS courtesy of the authors:

Chef JJ:

A graduate of the Culinary Institute of America he was inspired to pursue his love for food by the cuisine of his Caribbean grandmother.

Chef JJ’s talents were further honed in the kitchens of New York’s most highly esteemed restaurants such as ‘Centro Vinoteca’, ‘Jane’ and ‘Tribeca Grill’. He has spent time in Ghana studying West African cuisine and showcased his skills at ‘Villa Monticello’, Ghana’s Premier Luxury Boutique Hotel and Spa. This culinary experience and life changing trip to Ghana prepared Chef JJ for The Cecil, a afro/asian/american brasserie showcasing African dispora.

Christopher Stewart:

Christopher Stewart, chef, food blogger, and blossoming food writer, knew food was instilled in her from the very beginning. A graduate of The Culinary Institute of America, where she met and became friends with Chef JJ, Christopher lives and works in New York City. With several restaurant jobs under her belt including becoming Executive Chef at 24, she has now set out on the writing adventure of her life, co-authoring Food Is What I Do with Chef JJ. The popularity of her food blog, “EatingFabulously” keeps food close to her heart and also provided her with unique opportunities to showcase her writing, including writing for MarcusSamuelsson.com, UPTOWNFlavor, and various other sites.”

I recently had a chance to meet with and hear Henry Louis Gates discuss his latest work, which I have been watching on TV. The series is the most captivating I have ever seen on the subject. There is an insight in every pause, word, sentence, still, etc. Truly remarkable. “Must See TV”.

Upon introducing myself, the first thing he remarked is “you are of Haitian descent” which is half true, the other half being Canadian. Both facts figure prominently in early episodes, and I found myself feeling extremely proud of my heritage. I consider my heritage a gift.

During his keynote address to a room of about 100 of us, he mentioned his Harlem roots, spoke about the need for everyone to understand America’s economic history and the key role the enslavement and torture of human beings played, and urged everyone to become more educated about the achievements and innovations of African Americans.

He also talked about the need for current and new black leaders to develop a comprehensive strategy for making sure that ground won is not lost (voting rights, affirmative action, etc) and for closing a widening economic gap that leaves millions of people no better today than they were 30 years ago (a sad fact that statistics support). He also mentioned the importance of personal responsibility. One aspect of which I call “doing it from within” – as in your self. Your family. Your community. As the circle widens it causes change. Like ripples across the many rivers we have – and will continue to, cross. As so well told by Mr. Gates.

The African Americans: Many Rivers to Cross is the companion book to the six-part, six hour documentary of the same name, airing on national, primetime public television in the fall of 2013. The series is the first to air since 1968 that chronicles the full sweep of 500 years of African American history, from the origins of slavery on the African continent and the arrival of the first black conquistador, Juan Garrido, in Florida in 1513, through five centuries of remarkable historic events right up to today—when Barack Obama is serving his second term as President, yet our country remains deeply divided by race and class.

The book explores these topics in even more detail than possible in the television series, and examines many other fascinating matters as well, such as the ethnic origins—and the regional and cultural diversity—of the Africans whose enslavement led to the creation of the African American people. It delves into the multiplicity of cultural institutions, political strategies, and religious and social perspectives that African Americans have created in the half a millennium since their African ancestors first arrived on these shores. Like the television series, this book guides readers on an engaging journey through the Black Atlantic world—from Africa and Europe to the Caribbean, Latin America, and the United States—to shed new light on what it has meant, and means, to be an African American.

By highlighting the complex internal debates and class differences within the Black Experience in this country, readers will learn that the African American community, which black abolitionist Martin R. Delany described as a “nation within a nation,” has never been a truly uniform entity, and that its members have been debating their differences of opinion and belief from their very first days in this country. The road to freedom for black people in America has not been linear; rather, much like the course of a river, it has been full of loops and eddies, slowing and occasionally reversing current. Ultimately, this book emphasizes the idea that African American history encompasses multiple continents and venues, and must be viewed through a transnational perspective to be fully understood.